The Christmas Sickness
by Krisavengergurl
Summary: Just a short Clintasha oneshot! Christmassy fluff and no plot line, just a quick little story I promised I'd write!


Natasha sneezed loudly once again into the tissue in her hand before groaning quietly and laying back. Though the covers of her bed were rather warm, she was still freezing. She couldn't breathe through her nose and her head was pounding. Not to mention that her throat was being just the slightest bit of a jerk to her. Okay, a really big jerk.

The funniest part was, Natasha never, ever, got sick. It simply didn't happen.

Of course, until Christmas Eve came along.

She felt absolutely terrible. Nat had locked herself up in her bedroom in order to isolate herself (she wasn't exactly a model patient when it came to being sick) and stay away from everyone else in the tower. Especially Tony. She couldn't handle one more syllable of his annoying voice today. Not with the way she was feeling right then.

And just as she began a long fit of wet, hurtful coughing, a quiet knock sounded on her door. She tried to calm down her coughing, at least partially diminish the sound, but it was to no avail. If anything, it made the coughing more painful and loud.

"Tasha?" Clint called softly through the door, "You okay?"

She finished off her terrible coughing fit and groan again. "If you were smart, you'd leave me alone Hawk," she growled weakly. It wasn't her fault she was so hostile. Well, it was, but she felt so miserable right then that she didn't care about much else besides not dying.

Natasha heard a quiet scraping outside her door. And before she could even start to ask what he was doing, Clint walked inside of the door, grin on his face. _Just as big of a softy as he was in Budapest_, she thought. She didn't even know if it was possible, but even in her brain her voice sounded grouchy and weak.

"I thought I told you to leave me be, Clint," she hissed as she flipped onto her side and shoved her head into her pillow. The movement just made her start to cough again. Great.

Clint set down a heavy blanket in the chair next to her door. He started to shake off his boots as he began to talk. "No. You said if I was smart I'd leave you alone. Let's just assume that I'm an imbecile for a day."

Natasha knew he was grinning like an idiot without her even looking. But when she did turn her head slightly to give him a sleepy death glare, her suspicions were confirmed. His smile didn't even so much as falter as she shot him that Black Widow glare of hers. He was immune to it by now.

"Don't even use big words with me right now. My vocabulary mainly consists of swear words in five different languages, so I would suggest you shut your beak," Natasha growled. She sneezed twice in a row after.

He just laughed softly. "I forgot how much of a pain you are when you're sick." His voice was fond, however.

" 'm not sick," she grumbled quietly, trashing around under the sheets for a few moments.

Clint moved forward and set a vase of Poinsettias on her nightstand table along with the kind of chocolate she adored, though she'd never freely admit it. He rolled his eyes at her claim and gently placed the back of his hand against his forehead.

"You're boiling, Tasha."

She rolled her eyes and pretended to ignore him. It was obvious she was sick. Natasha almost hated being taken care of as much as she hated getting sick. Still, she didn't stop Clint when he moved from her side and to the bathroom to retrieve a cold washcloth for her.

"How did you even know I was sick?" She wheezed. It wasn't like she'd told anyone that, even Clint.

"I'm not stupid, Natasha. I know when you're sick. It's actually pretty obvious. The first clue though was that you weren't at the gym today at 6 AM as normal." He wrung out the cloth and softly placed it on her forehead. He stroked her hair back softly from her face after.

Her chapped lips formed into a tight line when he did this. "I don't need or want your help, Clint." Just as stubborn as normal.

"I know you don't. But I'm going to care for you anyway. You're my partner, not to mention my girlfriend. We take care of each other, Nat." He took the heavy blanket from the chair and unfolded it. He gently lay it on top of her and smoothed it down.

She coughed quietly, closing her eyes. She wetted her lips and tried to breathe desperately for air.

He frowned deeply. He knew just from the look on her face that she was in pain, even though she would most likely never admit it. Lucky for her, with Clint, she didn't need to say a word. "I'll be right back. I promise."

He was off, and only a few minutes later, he was back with a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of medicine for her. Clint had a feeling she'd be stubborn about taking the medication that she'd need, but he had a good idea of how to get her to take it.

Nat opened her eyes and glared at Clint. "No." She refused to take medicine, just as Clint suspected. He kept himself from smiling as he put his plan into action.

Clint shrugged and set down the bottle of medicine and Gatorade down on her nightstand. "Alright. I'm not touching you until you take it though." He knew that making her feel bad, or at least compelled to take the medicine, would work better than anything else.

He sat down on the floor and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. She stared him down sleepily, an angry scowl on her face. No, she did not want to take the medicine in the slightest. But she wanted Clint close at a time like this, especially when she was in pain and when she was as cold. Natasha stared him down, trying to see if he would break, but he didn't give in.

She wasn't happy. Natasha wasn't happy about it at all. She reached out grumpily and snatched the bottle into her hand. After pouring out three of the pills, she forced them down her throat and slammed the bottle back down. "There. Happy now?" Her voice was rough and cracky.

Clint smiled slightly as he stood up and gently stroked her cheekbone with this thumb. "Yes, Queen Natasha. You'll feel better quick. I promise." He stopped himself from wincing as he felt how hot her skin still was.

Natasha placed her hand on top of his and and tugged softly. She obviously wanted him close. Clint walked around to the other side of the bed and lay down softly, as not to disturb her. He scooted his body closer to hers and gently wrapped his arms around her middle. He then carefully pulled her so her body was close to his, so that his heat was transferring to her.

Her eyes closed softly in happiness. She felt better with Clint just being there. His hand began to gently stroke circles on her stomach in order to calm her. "Just rest Tasha. I'll be here when you wake up." He kissed her temple softly.

She didn't need to be told twice. Natasha fell asleep almost immediately in the safety and warmth of his arms.

When Nat did wake up, she felt much, much better. Why? She wasn't even sure. Maybe it was the medicine. Maybe it was her genetic code that had been enhanced by the Red Room. She didn't know. But what she did know, was that waking up with Clint still laying next to her, with his arms wrapped tightly around her, made her feel a hundred times better.

Clint noticed she was awake. He gave her a soft smile. "Hey. How are you feeling?" He took a strand of her dark red hair in his fingers and twirled it around softly.

She smiled sleepily at that. "Much better, thanks to you."

"Good to hear. Very good to hear. That means that Christmas has been saved!" he joked.

"The only thing that's been saved is your head, Barton," she snorted quietly, sitting up and stretching. He kept his arms around her as she did this. And as soon as he felt she was done, he pulled her up.

"Come on Tash! It's Christmas! You can't sit in bed all day." He pulled her out of the door, even though she wasn't complaining. A smile stayed on her lips and her hand stayed clenched tight in his.

He led her all the way to her door before stopping and nonchalantly glancing up. Natasha did the same, and then began to laugh at the mistletoe. She threw him a playful glare, and he threw his hands up. "Hey, don't look at me! It was obviously Santa."

She just rolled her eyes, and when he knew she was caught off guard, he caught her lips in his own in a slow, but passionate kiss. His hands slowly drifted to her waist as hers moved to his neck. He pulled her close and dipped her so he had a better angle to kiss her at, and she couldn't help but smile.

Unbeknownst to Natasha, that would be the best day of her life. Clint, later in the day, right by the tree and right in front of the rest of the team, he got down on one knee, and offered up his heart to his girlfriend, and passionately begged her to be his life. Without a hesitation, she said yes, and that rock was slid on her finger where it would stay, and shine for the rest of her life.

That was the best Christmas either of them had ever had.

Okay, I know this one was pretty bad! I'll probably delete it in about two or three days! I wrote this late at night, and because I promised Clintasha, I wrote it! This is my first try at romance, and I was pressed for time, so that's why it's kind of bad! But I hope you all enjoyed! Please review!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Krisavengergurl


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